Piece of My Heart

by Layce Gardner

  “It’s just happenstance,” Dale said, rolling down the car window and flicking the paint chip outside.

  “How often have you seen a Home Depot evacuated because of a massive paint explosion? And how often have you had to wear a black plastic garbage bag home from a Home Depot because your clothes were unsalvageable?”

  “The manager said the store would reimburse us for our stuff. And she was very interested in Jennifer’s photo montage of the whole horrid episode,” Dale said.

  “I think she was more interested in Jennifer than in her photos.”

  “You think so?” Dale asked.

  “Uh, yeah. I may not be able to spot love, but lust is like a red flag—you can’t miss it.”

  “Does that make me a bad dating counselor because I can’t spot lust?”

  “No, it makes you married.”

  “I can’t wait to tell Taylor about it,” Dale said.

  “I’m sure she already knows,” Jenna said.

  “How?”

  “Check Facebook,” Jenna said, weaving her way out of the parking lot.

  Dale opened her Facebook app. “Oh, god, no,” she said, scrolling through a dozen pictures. “It’s pretty bad. Wanna see?”

  Jenna didn’t want to look, and didn’t want to know. This was one of the many reasons she disliked Facebook. Nothing was sacred. She knew that for all of eternity the picture of her as a Smurf would live in infamy.

  Chapter Nine

  When Taylor was done laughing, gasping, and sputtering, they opened the crate of wine that Jenna had found sitting by her front door. Taylor got a crowbar from her Land Rover and attacked the crate. It was no easy task. “Do we know where this came from?” she asked.

  “I’m figuring that since it’s Italian wine and was shipped from Tuscany that Lee sent it. But I haven’t a clue as to why,” Jenna said.

  “Why is a good question,” Dale said, picking up a bottle of Brunello Di Montalcino. She blew dust off the bottle.

  “I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. This stuff is seriously spendy,” Taylor said. She pulled a corkscrew out of a drawer.

  “Yeah, well, that gift horse might be holding a lot of Trojans inside it. And we all know how that turned out,” Dale said.

  “Is Lee trying to torment me?” Jenna asked, pulling out another bottle and studying its label.

  “I don’t think so. She already did that when she left you so abruptly,” Dale said. “And she knows you well enough to know that you’ve been tormenting yourself ever since she left.”

  “This looks more like an olive branch to me,” Taylor said.

  “I don’t give two turds about reconciliation or atonement,” Jenna said, putting the bottle back into the crate. “It’s not happening.”

  Taylor narrowed her eyes at Jenna.

  “What?” Jenna asked.

  “Maybe Lee saw this Italian thing as a sabbatical,” Taylor said.

  “What?” both Jenna and Dale asked simultaneously.

  “Whoa there, ladies,” Taylor said, taking a step back as if she feared their reprisals. “What I mean is that sometimes you have to lose what you had in order to know what you want.”

  “That’s a messed up thing to do. If you even consider doing that, I will have your lady parts surgically removed,” Dale said.

  “Ouch,” Taylor said, but she smiled. “No worries, baby. You captured my heart the moment you walked into that potluck carrying your famous macaroni salad.” She leaned in to Dale and kissed her sweetly.

  Jenna walked into the living room and sat on the sofa. She didn’t bother to turn on a light. She wished she could feel about someone like how Dale and Taylor felt about each other. Even with Lee, she hadn’t felt the kind of connection that Dale and Taylor had. She remembered Lee belittling people for really being in love and staying together.

  Had Lee viewed their own relationship as non-monogamous and had never bothered to inform her of it? How could she keep up that charade for six years? Did Lee view lesbian nesting as something to be avoided? Yet she’d moved in with Jenna and stayed. They’d done the nesting thing. But was Lee truly hers that entire time? Had she been a serial cheater because she viewed relationships like a river that cut at its banks and, in the process, changed course?

  “Do you think Lee ever cheated on me?” Jenna asked.

  “Uh, yeah, she ran off with the Italian wench,” Taylor called out from the kitchen.

  Jenna heard the clink of glasses. They must be pouring the wine. She wasn’t sure that she could drink it.

  “No, I mean other than the Italian wench,” Jenna said. “During the six years we were together.”

  Taylor and Dale walked into the living room. Dale handed Jenna a glass of wine. Taylor sat on the sofa with Jenna. She had a Dr. Pepper in her hands. “At this point, does it matter if she had other affairs?”

  Jenna sipped her wine. She changed her mind about it. She definitely needed a drink. She didn’t give a rat’s patootie where the wine had come from or who sent it.

  “Taylor, is there something you’re not telling us?” Dale asked. Her voice was even but her face wasn’t completely neutral. She looked worried.

  Taylor shrugged. “Like what?”

  Dale cocked her head. “Baby, I know you better than I know myself. There’s something you’re not saying. Spill it.”

  Taylor took a deep breath. “I never said anything because I wasn’t sure that the whole thing wasn’t just drunkenness and maybe even an accident. I didn’t say anything to anyone,” she looked over at Jenna, “Because…” Taylor was at a loss.

  Jenna had never seen this side of Taylor. She was always so even-keeled, cheerful, and laid back. Very little got to her.

  In a level voice, Dale said, “Let’s have a glass of wine, go sit on the balcony, and Taylor can tell us what may or may not have happened.”

  Once on the balcony, Jenna and Dale stared at Taylor.

  “Drink your wine,” Taylor said. She sipped her soda.

  “Spill,” Dale said. “And I don’t mean your Dr. Pepper.”

  Taylor looked uncertain but began, “The incident occurred at the Fourth of July party last summer.”

  “Okay…” Dale said.

  Taylor sighed and continued, “I went to the kitchen to get more potato salad and Lee came in. We were the only two people around and she may or may not have made a pass at me.”

  Jenna’s heart raced. She could hear the blood thumping in her ears.

  “What did she do that may or may not have constituted a pass?” Dale asked.

  “She cornered me. Tried to kiss me. But I don’t know for certain. She was drunk and maybe she needed a hug or something and she hadn’t been really going to kiss me. It was all so confusing and I didn’t know what to do.”

  “What did you do?” Jenna whispered.

  “I dropped the potato salad,” Taylor said. “Which was a sacrifice because you know how much I like potato salad.”

  She looked so uncomfortable that Jenna reached over and put her hand on Taylor’s. Jenna recalled the party in question. Taylor and Dale had hosted it just like they did every year. People flocked to their Fourth of July party because their house was out of the city limits and they could set off fireworks. Jenna remembered seeing Taylor come out of the house, looking flustered, and explaining that she had dropped the potato salad. At the time Jenna had thought Taylor was embarrassed by her klutziness. Now she knew better.

  “I didn’t know what to do,” Taylor said. “I thought maybe I had misconstrued the whole thing. Lee didn’t seem any different toward me afterwards—just her usual self—and since nothing had happened, I let it go. I didn’t want to make anyone upset.”

  “Not the least being your wife,” Dale said. “And our dearest friend.”

  “I didn’t know what to do or say, damn it.” Taylor looked like she was going to cry—something Jenna had never seen her do, not even when she’d nailed her thumb to the wall with a nail gun. “I’m so sorry,”
Taylor said to Jenna. “I should’ve said something and maybe none of this would’ve happened.”

  “It’s not your fault, Taylor,” Jenna said.

  “You’re not mad at me?”

  Jenna actually laughed. “No, not at all. In fact, I’m relieved.”

  “Relieved?” Taylor said.

  “Yes, relieved. Because of you, I know that Lee was never truly mine. It lessens my heartache because I know it wasn’t something lacking in me. She was just a slimeball. There were probably others I don’t know about,” Jenna said. She sipped her wine and marveled at the budding trees and the warm sunshine. Leaning back in her chair, she sighed. “It wasn’t me, after all,” she said. It felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

  “What if she comes back?” Dale asked.

  “I’ll kick her butt to the curb,” Jenna said with finality.

  “Really?” Dale asked.

  “Yes, and if for some reason my judgment is clouded by lust, you are to remove me from the premises and cart me off somewhere until I come to my senses. Is that understood?”

  “I promise,” Dale said, crossing her heart.

  “Promise,” Taylor echoed.

  “You don’t have to stick a needle in your eye on my account,” Jenna said with a chuckle. She felt light all of a sudden, as if the shadow of her lost love had been cast aside and now nothing but sunshine came through.

  “More wine?” Dale asked.

  “By all means,” Jenna said, holding out her glass.

  Jenna’s cell phone chirped. She looked at the number but didn’t recognize it. Probably a wrong number. She was about to push the ignore button when Dale stopped her.

  “You should answer that,” Dale said.

  “Why?”

  “Just answer it.”

  Jenna looked at Dale’s stern face. She’d never seen her quite so forceful. Jenna accepted the call and held the phone to her ear, her eyes never leaving Dale’s. “Hello?” she said tentatively.

  “Hi, Jenna. This is Brooklyn.”

  There was a pause.

  “From Home Depot?” Brooklyn added.

  “Oh, oh, yeah, I know who you are. I was just surprised, that’s all. Your voice sounds like you. I mean, you look like your voice,” Jenna said, and slapped herself in the forehead.

  Taylor snickered and Dale poked her in the ribs.

  “It’s probably a good thing I sound like me since I am me,” Brooklyn said. There was a hint of good-natured smart-assness in her voice.

  “So…” Jenna didn’t know what else to say.

  Brooklyn said, “Are you missing anything?”

  What a loaded question, Jenna thought. I’m missing having a love life. I’m missing a whole bunch of things. The list goes on and on. “What d’ya mean?” Jenna asked.

  “I have your wallet. You must have left it when you changed out of your blue clothes into that stylish black trash bag. You looked stunning by the way,” Brooklyn said.

  Jenna laughed. “Uh, yeah, it’s one of my better outfits.” She tried hard not to blush and failed. At least Brooklyn couldn’t see her face. However, Taylor and Dale could. She turned her face away from their prying eyes.

  “I was thinking maybe I could drop it by?” Brooklyn asked.

  “Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can come by the store.”

  “You could if the hazmat team were done, but they’re not. Store’s closed for a day or two.”

  “Wow. It’s still that big of a mess?”

  “Yep,” Brooklyn said.

  “Sorry about that.”

  “Not a problem. It was all our fault. I’m off work, and am going to be out and about, so maybe I could stop by real quick and give you your wallet?”

  Jenna mouthed that Brooklyn wanted to stop by. Dale, who over the years had perfected reading her lips, nodded vigorously.

  “Sure, that’d be great. Do you have something to write with? I’ll give you my address,” Jenna said.

  “I know where you live.”

  “You do?” Jenna asked.

  “I have your license,” Brooklyn said. “With your address on it.”

  “Oh, right,” Jenna said, feeling stupid again.

  “I’ll be by in twenty minutes, if that’s all right?” Brooklyn asked.

  “I’ll be here,” Jenna said.

  “Great, see you soon.”

  Jenna clicked off. “I can’t believe I left my wallet at Home Depot. I never do stuff like that.”

  “You’ve also never gone swimming in blue paint before,” Taylor said.

  Dale nervously cleared her throat and refused to look Jenna in the eye. Then it dawned on Jenna. “Dale! You didn’t.”

  Dale looked penitent. “Somebody had to do something. You were never going to make the first move, so I took matters into my own hands. I did take out your credit cards in case someone other than Brooklyn found your wallet, and you really should carry more than five dollars in cash, you know.”

  Taylor slapped her knee and laughed. “Brilliant!”

  Jenna narrowed her eyes at Dale. “I should really be mad at you.”

  “Look, you like her. It’s been almost a year since Lee. It’s time you got back in the game. Do you want to end up like Marge who has been pining for her ex for the past fourteen years?”

  “Are you kidding me?” Taylor asked.

  “You didn’t know that?” Dale said.

  “I just figured she was always between girlfriends,” Taylor said.

  “You, my darling, are not the most observant,” Dale said.

  “I don’t have to be. I have you,” Taylor said. She leaned over and kissed Dale on the lips.

  Jenna suddenly jumped up. “Omigod! I need to dust and vacuum.”

  “Calm down. Your apartment is super neat. Like creepy super neat,” Taylor said.

  “She’s right. Besides, I don’t think Brooklyn is coming here to search for dust bunnies,” Dale said.

  The doorbell rang.

  Jenna froze. “It’s not been twenty minutes,” she whispered like the person on the other side of the door could hear her.

  Taylor glanced at her watch. “Okay, it’s been fifteen minutes. At least you know she’s punctual.”

  “Go answer the door. Invite her to stay for a glass of wine. You’ve got us for a buffer. Can it get any better?” Dale said.

  “Yes, you could’ve not stolen my wallet,” Jenna said. The doorbell rang again.

  “Go!” Dale commanded.

  Jenna straightened her shoulders, took two deep breaths, walked to the door and opened it. Jenna gasped when she saw Brooklyn, leaning against the doorjamb. She was just so damned breath-taking. It was like she noticed something different about Brooklyn each time she saw her. This time it was her arms. She loved how the sun glistened off the tiny hairs on her arms. When Brooklyn held up the wallet, Jenna loved the way the muscles in her forearms moved. She resisted an urge to reach out and caress her arm.

  “Hi, again,” Brooklyn said. She gave Jenna a crooked smile. “Am I early?”

  “Not at all. I was out on the balcony with Dale and her wife, Taylor. Please, come in,” Jenna said.

  Brooklyn handed Jenna her wallet. “I was the one who found the wallet, so no worries there. There wasn’t much in it.”

  “I travel light,” Jenna said.

  Did Brooklyn think that she left the wallet intentionally so she could see her again? This looked bad. Should she confess that Dale did it? Or let it pass? Thankfully, Jenna didn’t have to decide because Dale appeared behind Jenna.

  “Hey, Brooklyn. Why don’t you come out and have a glass of wine with us? I think after today’s fiasco you might need one,” Dale said.

  “I’d like that. If it’s all right with you?” Brooklyn asked, looking at Jenna.

  “Please do. It’s the least I can offer after what happened today,” Jenna said, realizing she was failing miserably in the hostess department.

  Brooklyn came in. She took a quick lo
ok around. “Nice place.”

  “I didn’t have a chance to dust or vacuum,” Jenna blurted.

  “It looks spotless to me. I live in one those old houses on Claremore Street with five roommates who are not exactly tidy.”

  “Oh,” was all Jenna could think to say.

  Dale saved her. “I love those old houses over there. They’re so grand looking.”

  “Yeah, well, our house has seen better days. When my ex threw me out, I moved in on a temporary basis that turned into two years.”

  “Your ex threw you out?” Jenna asked. That could be a red flag.

  “Yeah. She decided she wasn’t a lesbian anymore. Technically, she didn’t throw me out. I left because it was her house.”

  “Ouch,” Jenna said. She removed the red flag. “That happened to Melissa Etheridge, so you’re in good company.”

  “Yeah, getting left for a man doesn’t do a lot for a girl’s ego.”

  “Let me get you a glass,” Jenna said. She didn’t want to talk about her ex right now and since Brooklyn had shared her past it was an unspoken lesbian rule that Jenna should share hers, which she had no intention of doing.

  Brooklyn noticed the case of wine. “You gals don’t mess around.”

  “It mysteriously arrived on my doorstep this afternoon,” Jenna said, pulling another bottle from the crate.

  “From an admirer?” Brooklyn asked.

  Jenna was silent. She didn’t know what to say.

  “It’s from her ex-girlfriend,” Dale said.

  “Oh. She must still really like you,” Brooklyn said.

  “Well, I don’t like her. She left me for an Italian wench,” Jenna blurted angrily.

  “Sore subject, I take it,” Brooklyn said.

  “Very sore,” Dale replied.

  “How long ago?” Brooklyn inquired.

  “Almost a year. I’m totally over her, and I have no idea why she sent this.”

  “But we’re going to drink it,” Dale said.

  “I’d say it’s an expensive consolation prize, so why not take advantage of it,” Brooklyn said. She smiled warmly at Jenna.

  With the four of them, the balcony was a tight fit. Jenna unfolded her extra fourth chair. When Lee had been here, the balcony had seen a lot of action, which was the reason for the fourth chair. Lee was an entertainer. She liked having a lot of people around and now Jenna knew why—fresh meat. She sat next to Brooklyn who appeared at ease with the proximity.